Chapter 6

VASHIKMUNA is the art by which man or woman is rendered submissive and obedient to the fascinator, who for that purpose uses certain drugs and charms. And first the magic "Talaka." 1

First Prescription

The holy sage Vatsyayana Muni 2 hath declared that whosoever will take the powder of sensitive plant, the root of green lotus-flowers, the Bassia latifolia, and barley-flower; and, after mixing it up with some of his own Kama-salila, will apply it as a sectarian mark to his forehead, such an one will subdue the world of women, and she who looks upon his brow cannot fail to feel for him the most eager desire.

Second Prescription

The man who will levigate the root of the giant Asdepias, the Jatamansi, or spikenard (valeriana latamansi), Vekhand, the sweet-smelling grass Nagarmotha (cyperus pertenuis or juncifolius), and costus with the blood from a woman's Yoni, and apply it to his forehead, shall ever be successful in the affairs of love, and shall enjoy a long course of happiness.

Third Prescription

The man who will take equal parts of Tagar (a flowering plant, taberna montana or coronaria asarobacca), of Pimpalimull (the root of piper dichotonium, or long pepper), of Mendha-shinghi (a plant whose fruit is compared with goat-horns or crab-claws), and of Indian spikenard; mix them together and knead them with honey, to which is added his Kama-salila, or with any of the other five Mala (secretions of the body); that man will find that such a mixture applied to his forehead will enable him to overcome and subdue the women of the world.

The following recipe will enable a woman to attract and preserve her husband's love:

Moisten Gorochana in the blood which appears every month, and apply it to the forehead as a "Tilak"; as long as it is there and the man looks upon it, so long shall he be in her power.

The following are "Anjan", or magical collyriums for winning love and friendship:

First

Take a human skull from the cemetery or burning ground on the eighth day of the moonlit fortnight of the seventh month Ashvini (September-October), expose it to fire, and collect the soot upon a plate held over it; let this be drawn over the inner surface of the eye-lids, instead of the usual antimony, and the effect will be to fascinate every one. 3

Second

Take bamboo-manna, Naga-keskar (messua ferrea) 4 Korphad (aloe perfoliata) and Manshila (red sulphuret of arsenic); reduce them to powder, sift, and use as collyrium; the wearer's eyes will attract the hearts of all.

Third

Take wood of the Tad-palm (toddy-tree), costus, and Tagar-root, levigate in water, and with the latter moisten a piece of silk stuff; convert this into wicks with Shiras-oil, light them and take the soot formed upon a human skull in a cemetery, when held above the lamp; this is a

collyrium, which will make every one who looks upon it the servant or slave of the wearer.

Fourth

Take Manshil, Naga-keshar, Kala-umbar (the fruit of ficus glomerosa) and bamboo-sugar, and make a collyrium when the Pushya-asterism falls upon a Sunday; its effect will be greatly to increase the mutual love of husband and wife.

The following three prescriptions are powerful in reducing other persons to submission:

First

If a powder made of the Kang, or white panic (p. italicum), white Nishottar (thomea turpethum), the wing of the Bhramra-bee, costus, lotus flower, and Tagar-root, be thrown upon a man, it will at once have the effect of fascination.

Second

If a powder, made of Vatalu leaves, of Soma-valli (the moon-plant, asclepias acida, or sarcostema viminalis), and of a garland or rosary placed upon a dead body, and mingled with a little of the man's own Kama-salila, be thrown upon a person, the latter will be surely subdued.

Third

If a powder, made with equal quantities of the Satavina-Vrisksha (the "seven-flowered tree", astonia scholaris or echites), of the Rudraksha (cleocarpus lanceolatus, or Ganitrus, a tree sacred to Shiva), and of the seeds of San (Bengal "sun"), be used as before, it will have even a greater effect. This is perhaps the most potent compound for fascinating others.

A Philter-Pill (Vatika)

On any Tuesday, take out the bowels of the blue jay (coracias indica), and let some of the fascinator's own Kama-salila be placed inside the body; put the latter into an earthen pot, cover it with a second pot whose bottom must be turned upwards, lute with cloth and clay, and keep in a solitary place for seven days; then take out the contents, 5 pound, reduce to fine powder, make pellets, or pills, and dry them. If one of these be given to a woman, she will be subject to a man, and vice versa.

Another Charm

The man who, after enjoying his wife, catches some of his own Kama-salila in his left hand, and applies it to her left foot, will find her entirely submissive to his win.

Another Charm

The woman who before congress will touch with her left foot the Linga of her husband, and will make a practice of this, undoubtedly subdues him, and makes him her slave for life.

Another Charm

Let a man take of the egesta of the spotted-necked pigeon; rock-salt, and the leaves of the Bassia latifolia in equal parts, powder them, and rub the powder upon his Linga before congress, he will become the woman's master.

Another Charm

Let a man levigate together Kasturi (common musk, also applied to a kind of camphor) and wood of the yellow Tetu-tree; mix them with honey two months old, and apply the substance to his Linga before congress, it will have the same effect.

A Fascinating Incense, or Fumigation

Pound well together sandal-wood, Kunku (red powder prepared from turmeric and alum coloured with lemon-juice and other matters), costus, Krishnaguru (black sanders), Suvasika-puspha (perfumed flowers?), white vala (the fragrant andropogon muricatum and the bark of the Deodaru pine; and, after reducing them to fine powder, mix it with honey and thoroughly dry. It is now known as Chintamani-Dhupa, the "thought-mastering incense". If a little of this be used according to the ceremonies prescribed, he who employs it will make all the world submissive to him.

Another Incense

Pound and mix together equal quantities of cardamom-seeds, Olibanum (or gum benzoin), the plant Garur-wel Moon-seed, monispermum glabrum, or cocculus cardifolius, sandal-wood, the flowers of the eared jasmine, and Bengal madder. This incense is powerful as that above given.

Footnotes

1 This is a round sectarian mark, about the size of a wafer, which the Hindu applies to his forehead, after certain rites and prayers. The reader will find this chapter interesting on account of the various abominations which it contains. The underlying idea appears to be that if any secretion of the body, the fouler the better, can be secretly administered to a person of either sex, the result is the subjection of the patient to the adhibitor. The European reader will hardly believe how extensively this practice is carried out all over the East. No Persian will drink sherbet in the house of his future mother-in-law; and Jewish women, who are especially addicted to these practices, will mix their monthly blood in the philters which they give to men.

2 The reader can now consult the Kama Sutra of the Sage Vatsyayana, translated from the Sanskrit in seven Parts, gr. in 8vo, with Preface, Introduction and concluding remarks, Benares, printed for the Hindoo Kama Shastra Society, 1883.

3 Nothing in Hindu eyes can be more impure or sacrilegious than such an act as this; the people having, as a rule, the highest reverence for the body from which life has departed. And the horror of the thing is, of course, the secret of its power.